Iris
by Aikoyu Saotome
Summary: RE-WRITTEN Ginny lives a depressing life. Draco lives an abusive life. Both are filled with sadness, hate, and anger. He finds her broken, she finds him torn. If they can come together and help each other through this, they can overcome anything.
1. Depression

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything except Claudia and this fictional story.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN RE-DONE!!!

This is a romantic story, but there isn't much fluff. There is some darkness and depression, but what's a story without it?

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

-

* * *

And I'd give up forever to touch you

Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't wanna go home right now

* * *

-

* * *

It was dusk; the sky was slowly turning dark and had a deep blue hue to it. It was towards the end of May, heading into June, and a cool breeze blew through the trees of the Forbidden Forest towards the grounds of Hogwarts, and over the lake, where she was sitting.

She was on the soft grass by the edge of the lake with her legs pulled up to her chest. She was hugging them, her chin was resting on her knees, and she had a forlorn expression on her face, but she wasn't crying. Sometimes she cried, but most of the time, she didn't. It depended on her body, on her mind. It decided when she would cry or not; not her. Depression works in funny ways like that.

She looked up at the darkening sky and sighed, hugging her legs tighter as another breeze blew through the grounds of the school, making her fiery hair float around her, causing her to look like an angel to anyone who had been there, though she felt far from one.

But someone was there, and he was walking towards the area of the lake where she was sitting; behind a bush out of reach from the windows of the school, and he did see her.

"Weasley?" She spun around quickly, her heart racing.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. Shouldn't you be inside, asleep, like a good girl? Especially after all you had to go through in the Department of Mysteries." He sneered slightly, to keep up appearances.

"I am not someone who always follows the rules. How can I after growing up with my brothers? I'm not stiff and reserved, Malfoy, nor am I a little girl. Facing the Death Eaters and Voldemort did not scare me. Besides, shouldn't you be inside, too?"

"I'm not good, in case you haven't noticed by how much Goody two shoes, Weasel, and Potter hate me." She felt a slight pang in her heart when he said that, but he didn't mention her, so maybe he knew that she didn't hate him.

"I…came out for fresh air." She subconsciously covered her wrists, but he noticed. His heart wanted to go out to the girl, but he wouldn't let it. "Why are you here?"

"Same reason."

They stayed there for a few minutes, not saying a word to each other. Ginny sitting with her legs now shifted to her side and trying to not let him see her wrists, and Draco standing with his hands in his pockets, both staring out at the shimmering moonlit water. It was Draco who broke the silence, for he couldn't hold in his curiosity any longer.

"Why did you do that?"

She looked up at him in confusion.

"What? I haven't done anything."

He kneeled next to her and gently took her right hand, showing her her wrist. She looked ashamed, and turned her head so she wasn't looking at him, then took her hand back and covered her wrist with her right one.

"That's none of your business," she said softly. She couldn't see it, and he didn't realize it, but Draco's expression turned soft, and almost sympathetic. He wanted to help her, to heal her, because somehow she had been broken, just as he had. Suddenly, Ginny turned her head around and gasped softly.

"I hear someone coming!" she whispered. She peeked through the bushes.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"McGonagall, probably on her shift. Quick, run behind the other side of the bushes so she can't see you."

"Save myself? Alright Weasley if you insist." She swatted his arm and glared.

"Just go. She trusts me, not you."

Draco hid behind the bushes just as McGonagall came into view and saw Ginny. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Miss Weasley, just what are you doing out here after hours?"

"I…I'm sorry professor, I just…wanted to be alone for a bit. It's really hard to accomplish that during normal hours so…I came out here. I promise, I wasn't doing anything wrong."

"Yes, well…well alright I do understand, especially after what you and your friends just went through…poor Sirius…just don't let me see it happen again." Her eyes twinkled, and Ginny smiled at her.

"Thank you professor."

"You're welcome. Now I must continue my patrol. When I get back in ten minutes, I expect that you will be in your bed."

"Yes professor."

"Good." She smiled at the girl and turned to leave.

After about a minute, Draco came out from behind the bushes.

"So you have to suck up to them? Is that why they like you Gryffindors so much?" It just came out. He didn't mean to sound so nasty to her; she never did anything to deserve it.

"No, Malfoy. They like us because we're not rude to them. And I actually did want to be alone." She stood and began to walk back to the castle.

"Hey."

She stopped and turned to look at him.

"Not that I needed it, but why'd you tell me to hide?"

"Because you would have gotten into trouble."

"Not with you there."

"I don't know, Malfoy. I just want to be alone right now."

He shrugged. She turned to leave but he stopped her again with a question.

"Are you really _that_ depressed?" Ginny sighed.

"It's not like I'm trying to kill myself. Sometimes I just wish that people would notice me a little more and not treat me like a child. Not that you care. Good night."

'_She thinks people don't notice her??' _he thought incredulously.

He stood there for another minute, then he headed to the Slytherin dorm. He thought about what she said, rubbed his arm in thought, and then undressed and went to sleep.

* * *

-

* * *

Ginny woke up, her heart racing. That happened three months ago. Why did she just dream about it? She rubbed her eyes, yawned, and got out of bed. She walked into her bathroom to take a shower, and try to forget about her dream. She walked downstairs to the kitchen of the Burrow to have some of the delicious breakfast her mother made for the family plus Harry and Hermione.

"Hiya, Gin," Fred said as she passed him.

"Hi." She yawned and grabbed a plate, put two eggs and a piece of toast on it, and sat down to eat. George walked in, said hi to everyone, saw how little Ginny was eating, and shared a concerned look with Fred, then Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Mrs. Weasley was upstairs gathering the laundry.

"Ginny, do you want a pancake? They're so delicious," Hermione said as she ate a piece of hers. But Ginny only shook her head.

"I'm not that hungry, Mione." Hermione sighed.

She was the only one of the group who knew about Ginny's depression, but she didn't know how serious it was or why she was so sad. She didn't know about Ginny's wrists, either. Hermione was Ginny's best friend, and it hurt her to see the girl so upset. Even though Ginny hid it well, Hermione could see it in her eyes.

Ginny would laugh, she'd joke, she'd goof off with the group, but not so much anymore. And Hermione just could not find out why. She figured that it might be because of a guy, but Ginny would have told her about it. So she let it go until she wanted to talk.

Mrs. Weasley rushed into the room with a smile on her face.

"The owls are here with your grades! Oh I'm so excited." They all groaned.

"Mum, why are you always so overjoyed?" Fred asked.

"They're just pieces of paper that can be changed so easily…OW!" Mrs. Weasley pinched George's shoulder.

"You can't change your grades young man!"

"Yeah yeah…we know."

"He was just kidding, mum," Fred said.

"Oh I know I didn't do well at all! Not well at all!"

"Stuff it, Mione. You got the best grades out of all of us and you know it," Ron said, picking at his pancake.

"But what if I didn't? Oh dear! I am so nervous!"

They all rolled their eyes. Mrs. Weasley opened the window and the owls swooped in and landed on the counter, all sticking out their legs. Harry took them off their legs and they flew away. Then he handed them out to everyone and they started to open them.

"It looks like we did pretty well. And of course Mione did better than any of us," Harry said smiling. She blushed.

"Ok ok fine I overreact but can you blame me? There's a lot of stress involved!" They all gave her blank stares. "Oh alright!" She sat down at her place at the table and finished her breakfast.

"Man…I really wanted to take potions to NEWT level…" Harry said. "I only got an excellent."

"I'm sure they'll still let you, Harry," Ron assured him.

"I need an outstanding, Ron. I can't become an auror now." He looked extremely downhearted.

"Harry, talk to McGonagall. I'm sure she'll let you," Hermione said.

"Are the OWLS really that hard?" Ginny asked. Ron's eyes widened and both he and Harry nodded.

"Yeah. But if you study hard enough, they'll go by really fast," Hermione said.

"Oh…"

"You'll do fine."

* * *

-

* * *

"And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am…I just want you to know who I am…I just want you to know who I am…"

The light notes of two guitars and soft drumming faded to a comfortable silence.

"You know, I think that was our best practice yet," said a girl with long waist-length black hair and naturally sun-kissed skin, with golden brown eyes that had golden veins in them – the Hawaiian half of her, though it looked like she was completely Hawaiian.

"Why do you say that?" asked a young man, who turned seventeen just a day ago. He had light chocolate-colored skin, a darker shade for his eyes, and messy black hair that wasn't stiff due to his mother's Caucasian blood. His father was African-American.

"Well…I dunno. The feeling, the aura, that I got from it was very pleasing, no matter what the lyrics say. You didn't get that?" The drummer nodded his head.

"Yeah, I guess I did. Draco? What'd you think of it?" But the blonde didn't even turn to look at his friend; he was too far gone, staring into space.

"Drake?" the half Hawaiian girl asked, trying to bring him out of it. He turned to look at her, then the other two boys.

"Yeah, sorry. What?" The girl chuckled.

"Always daydreaming, Draco. Tsk tsk." He grinned lightly.

"Sorry, I was thinking."

"You shouldn't do that too much, it might hurt you," said one of the other two young men, who was sixteen years old. He had light tan skin – not pale, but not really tan, and he had deep brown, nicely cut hair, though not too short, and sported striking deep, dark blue eyes, almost navy.

"Oh shut up, Theo." Theo laughed and went to go sit on the couch, leaning his guitar on his leg beside him. "I thought it went well, exactly as Pansy said it did."

Draco Malfoy had been friends with this group for as long as he could remember, and they all had at least one death eater parent – therefore, they all dealt with abuse in one form or another. They would try every way possible to get together and forget their lives, if only for a couple of hours, and they finally came up with a fantastic solution three years ago – a band.

Draco was the lead singer and he also played the guitar in some of their songs. Next came Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott – the two main guitarists. Pansy usually played the solos, but Theo took some of them. Zackary Nott, Theo's slightly younger twin brother, played the base. Then, last but not least, Blaise Zabini, who played the drums like a madman. He got so into it, that the group had taken to calling him the next Travis.

Zack threw a pillow at Draco, who was brought out of his thoughts for the second time, then glared at the offender, who laughed when Draco threw it back. Zackary Nott was almost the complete opposite of Theo, but yet, they were the same person still. He had jet black messy hair that was the same length as Harry Potter's, but not as unruly. He also had striking green eyes that the girls swooned over. Unlike Harry's, which were gentle, Zackary's eyes were mischievous, and twinkled with mirth and trouble. He loved being the center of attention, and was actually friendly with Fred and George Weasley. No, they weren't "friends," but they were pleasant with each other.

There was a knock on the door, and Pansy's father walked in, smiling.

"Anyone want cookies?"

"Daaaaad, we're not twelve," Pansy said in a fake annoying voice, but grinned anyway. She loved her dad's cookies. Her dad grinned back.

"Your…mother…won't be home until tomorrow, so you can practice later as well if you need to. I like hearing your music." They all said their thank you's, and he departed after leaving the cookies and milk by the door. Pansy loved her father – it was her mother who she hated. Well…now. Her mother was on Voldemort's side, and had this thought that her husband and daughter were, as well. Her mother wasn't always like this, though. It was Voldemort who poisoned her. She used to be a sweet, wonderful woman who would always take Pansy out to lunch, bake her cookies like how her father does now, and gave her kisses at bedtime. But she got in with the wrong people – Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange – and they turned her over to the dark lord, who brainwashed her.

Even though she used to be a good person, no amount of crying and love from Pansy or her father can bring her mother back. That is why she hates her mother now.

"Pans? You okay?" Blaise asked, worried. She shook her head and smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I'm okay." They all shared a worried glance, but dropped the subject.

"So do you think Iris is ready to be recorded?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Pansy answered. Blaise nodded, but Draco was off again, staring at nothing, yet he seemed to be staring into something.

"Draco, what the hell is wrong with you?" Blaise asked, annoyed. The blonde glared and threw a pillow at him, making him fall off his chair, the result throwing Pansy and Theo into fits of laughter.

"That's not the way to ask you moron," said Theo, still laughing.

"Hm. There is nothing wrong with me, I can assure you."

"Oh but Draco, dear, I beg to differ."

Draco playfully glared at Pansy.

"Oh really? Care to share your thoughts?"

"Not right now. I'm enjoying this cookie too much." She took a bite out of it and made a noise, closing her eyes. This made them all laugh – Pansy had a habit of making random odd noises. "That's heaven…"

"So Draco, what about 'Iris' being recorded?" Blaise asked, waving his hands in front of Draco's face in case he drifted off again. Draco narrowed his eyes and swatted the annoyance away from him.

"I think it's ready. I'm just not completely happy with it."

"I can see that…" Pansy said. "Why? Is it the subject again? That you can't figure out who the song is about?" Draco shrugged.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about that, sugar. Just worry about playing as perfectly as we have been when we record it. It's the middle of June, we just got out of Hogwarts, and we have a lot of time on our hands. Why don't we just get it over with and put it out for a summer single?"

"That's a great idea," Blaise said.

"It should be able to make it to at least the top twenty," Theo said. "So what are we doing about Lips of an Angel?" Theo asked.

"There are still lyrics to be changed and added. It's not nearly ready," Draco said.

--_**Flashback**_—

_Three months ago._

"Lips of an Angel," Draco suggested. "As a song title."

"Ohh I really like it!" Blaise added. "But you can't really pick a title before you pick the song."

"I know…but I do have a rough draft…a very rough draft…of it. Lips of an Angel, I mean. I just wanted to run that title by you," Draco said, addressing all of them.

There was a sudden loud gasp from Pansy, causing Blaise, who was sitting next to her, to fall off the couch, and all eyes turned to her.

"What's wrong with you?!" Blaise asked. Pansy glared at him for a second, then went back to being happy.

"Lips of an Angel!!!"

"What about it?" Theo asked.

"That could be the name of our band!" Draco smirked.

"You beat me to it, Pans. I was gong to suggest it, but if that's what we all like, you get the credit." She beamed.

"I like it," Theo said, polishing his guitar.

"Yeah, it has a really nice ring to it," said Blaise.

"Then it's settled. We are officially Lips of an Angel."

* * *

-

* * *

"Hurry up, come on, let's go! I want to go in and get out as soon as possible. And we MUST stay in a group!"

"Mum…it's not like he's going to pop out of a shop window," Ron said.

"Do NOT act as if this isn't serious! If you can joke like that, you can go home and you won't go back to Hogwarts!"

Ron kept quiet the rest of the way. They split up for a little while, and when they met up again, Harry was saying something about Malfoy being a death eater. That's what Ginny was overhearing.

"Harry? What are you talking about?" she asked.

"It's nothing."

"Tell me. You told them," she said, pointing to Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George.

"Forget it, Ginny, it was nothing."

"Don't tell me it was nothing. You were talking about Malfoy and something about death eaters."

"It's not important for you to know…"

"NO! You told them so tell me too! If this is about me being younger than you, it's not even by one full year! I have a right to know because I helped you all in the Ministry to defeat Voldemort last year, therefore making me a part of this!" she hissed.

"Ok ok, fine, Ginny! Calm down, I'll tell you…well when we were inside the store to get new robes, we saw Malfoy. He was being fitted for new robes, and Narcissa was with him. When Madame Malkin went to pin his sleeves, he pulled back and got really angry…almost nervous…and he snapped at her."

"Ok…?"

"Gin, he didn't want her to look at his _left_ wrist. His left wrist! That's where the dark mark is placed on death eaters." Ginny's eyes widened. '_No!'_

"I don't think that's true, Ginny," Hermione said. "Besides, we need much more evidence than that before we can accuse him of being a death eater. Also, why would Voldemort make him a death eater? He's too young. Oh get OVER it, Ron! I've been saying his name for almost a year!"

Harry wasn't convinced.

"I can't believe you guys don't think that he is one!"

"Just drop it, Harry. At least for now," Ron said. He did, grudgingly.

* * *

-

* * *

"Gin? What are you listening to?" Hermione asked. They were in the living room and Ginny had turned up the radio suddenly.

"Shhh! It's Lips of an Angel and their newest song." Hermione listened with Ginny, and when the near 5 minute song ended, she looked at the radio in awe.

"Iris, right?" Ginny nodded. "That's such a beautiful song…"

"It is…" was all Ginny could say.

"I've heard about them, but they weren't big until Iris and Here is Gone came out. You know, I read in Witch Weekly that their female guitarist named the band after they were having a discussion about one of their songs."

"Yeah, I read that, too. They're my favorite band now – I simply love their music," Ginny said breathlessly. For some reason, that song, Iris, just took her breath away. The person the song was about was exactly like her, that she felt she could have been that person. She felt so connected to the song; it described her perfectly.

* * *

-

* * *

"Alright, hurry up, you'll miss the train!" Mrs. Weasley said, bustling them all onto the Hogwarts Express.

"Bye, mum! See you for Christmas!" Ginny said. Mrs. Weasley waved at her and the rest of them when the train began to move.

"Man, I wish mum didn't make us go back to school," Fred grumbled.

"Me too. We could have started our shop, and it would have been a great success too," George agreed.

Ginny, Harry, Fred, and George all got a compartment. Hermione and Ron had prefect duties, so they couldn't sit with them until later. Suddenly, when they all sat down, they noticed Harry wasn't with them.

"Where's Harry?" George asked.

"I dunno, I thought he was right behind me," Ginny answered, leaning out of the compartment to look back from where she came, but just then, someone collided with her back. "OW!"

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry!" the person said in one breath. Ginny turned around and looked at the girl. She had black, wavy, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes, a slightly angular face, and very slender feminine features. She had curves, but her body type wasn't wnat you would call curvy. It was athletic, and her chest was just the right…oops, I'm getting into George's thoughts.

"It's alright."

"I was just looking for a compartment, and I didn't see you pop out…"

"It's alright! Really!"

"Okay…"

"What's your name?"

"Claudia. What's yours?"

"Ginny. These are my brothers, Fred and George."

"Hello!" Claudia said enthusiastically.

"Hey."

"…Hi."

"So you said you were looking for a compartment. Don't you have anyone with you? If you don't mind me asking," Ginny asked.

"I only know one person here, but I can't seem to find him. I just transferred from the Sydney Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Sydney, Australia."

"Australia? That's pretty neat," said Fred.

"Well you can stay in our compartment if you want," Ginny said.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

"So where are you from originally?" Fred asked.

"My family is from England, and we moved to Australia when I was eleven. My mother got a job here, so we moved, and my father…wasn't around."

"What are you going to take to the NEWT level?" Ginny asked, carefully avoiding the obviously sad subject of her father.

"Oh, I'm not a sixth year, I'm an incoming fifth year."

"Wow you'll be in all the same classes as me! Well, maybe, because of different schedules…" Ginny said, excited that she could have a new friend. One who would maybe pay more attention to her and not Harry Potter.

"That's really cool, I finally know someone else," Claudia said, making Ginny smile.

* * *

-

* * *

"Hey where's Harry?" Ron asked, walking into the compartment.

"I have no idea," Ginny answered. "He was right behind me when I was coming back here."

"But we're almost there, and he's not back yet!"

"Look Ron if you love the famous Harry Potter so much, why don't you go look for him yourself instead of pestering me about it?" Ron gave her a confused look.

"I was just wondering, Gin."

"You guys are friends with Harry Potter?" Claudia asked.

"Yes, he's one of my best friends," Ron said. Ginny rolled her eyes.

'_Ugh not another Harry Potter fan.'_

"Oh, that's cool."

They all widened their eyes at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You're not going to ask a million questions about him?" George asked.

"No, why?"

"Because everyone does. They're all asking things like 'are what people are saying about him true? Are the newspapers true? Is he really the chosen one? Is he a prick? Is he the golden boy?' It's rather annoying," Fred explained.

"Yeah it is. Some worship him, others just go ahead and assume things about him that aren't true, like oh he must be loving all of this attention. Yeah, I bet he's a jerk," Ron said with a scowl. "That's what they say."

"Well I'm not that type. I don't assume things about people if I don't know them, and I don't judge people on first impressions, or no impressions, for that matter. I know I'd hate all of this attention the Ministry and the papers and all of these people are giving him," Claudia said. They smiled at her. Maybe she will be a new addition to their group.

* * *

-

* * *

I hope you liked it! Remember, it's only the first chapter and it'll get better I promise. I hope you review! I do so love reviews! Also the next chapter is already written and will come soon, I just have to write more on the story to get me going. Also, reviews make it come faster! Of course it'll come anyway...but it'll come faster with more reviews because they motivate me :D


	2. The Sorting and the Feast

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Please excuse any inconsistancies you see, and PLEASE tell me about them so I can fix them. I just fixed something in the first chapter - it said that Claudia had blonde hair and green eyes, but she has black wavy shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. That's because I had originally written this story with a girl names Aria, and she was Draco's sister.

I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Please please review, they motivate me to write more and I want to know if people like my story. Thanks.

* * *

-

* * *

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't wanna go home right now

And all I could taste is this moment

And all I could breathe is your life

* * *

-

* * *

The students reached the school and went inside to their house tables save for the first years and transfers, who went to McGonagall to be sorted. They walked into the great hall to the sorting hat sitting on a stool near the tables and the sorting began.

The hat's rhyme wasn't much different.

"House and house will be united

And help defeat the greatest danger

Friendships will be tested ad slighted

And enemies will be pushed together.

You must always remember, always know

That pain comes in different forms.

Choose wisely the paths you will follow,

And they will never show you scorn.

You must all accept this fate,

Or the world will fall and perish.

Put behind you past and hate,

And in victory, will you relish."

"That hat is nutters," said Ginny.

"What did that mean, the whole 'houses will unite' crap?" Ron asked no one in particular. They shrugged.

"It always says something about the houses uniting," Harry said.

"True, but this time, it seemed pretty urgent, more so than the other years," Ginny added. Then the sorting began. Gryffindor received thirty, the most first years of the houses this year, topping Ravenclaw by two. After the first years came the transfers, and there were five this year, which was a lot. Usually there weren't any at all.

"Black, Claudia."

The entire room went silent. No one new that Draco had a cousin. The Blacks were well-known in the wizarding world. Almost as much as the Malfoys, and everyone knew the two families were related. The 'dream team' and friends gave each other glances.

The girl with long, wavy, black hair the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione met on the train walked up to McGonagall and sat down on the chair.

"Hmmm…this is difficult, very difficult."

'You're speaking to me?? In my head?'

"Why yes my dear. That is how I work. I probe your mind and soul until I see what house you are best suited for. It is a tie between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. You are very intelligent like a Ravenclaw, but you are very brave and outgoing like a Gryffindor, reckless at times if I may say."

'Hey!'

"Hmmm your intelligence is impressive so I must say…you would do very well in RAVENCLAW!"

The Weasleys pouted, but waved at her when she sat down.

"Torres, Geraldine."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Laytner, Morgan."

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Hufflepuffs cheered, and the Slytherins clapped and grinned. Morgan was a beautiful girl, and many heads turned as she walked to her table. She had straight, very black hair that reached her waist with striking dark green, pine-colored eyes. Jack and Blaise shared a look, telling each other that this was the girl they would try to win over for the first semester – they usually had these friendly rivalries.

During the feast, when she was finished, Claudia made her way to the Gryffindor table. Fred and George quickly made room for her. The other guys did as well but she knew the twins, Ginny, and Ron, so she sat with them.

"Claudia, this is Hermione, Harry, and Ron, my other brother. Harry's also like a brother. Mione, Harry, Ron, this is Claudia," Ginny said as she introduced them. They shook hands.

"Hello," they both said.

"Hi," she answered back, with a smile.

"So why didn't you tell us you're a Black?" Ron asked.

"Oh very subtle, Ronald." Ron glared at Hermione.

"It's alright, I don't mind questions like that," Claudia said. "My mother's name is Linda Black, and my father you all know very well. He was Sirius Black." Everyone in hearing range gasped and moved closer.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, eyes wide.

"Yes. My mother and I never once believed the stories about him. My mother knew he was a good man, and because she did, so did I."

"I can't believe Sirius had a wife, let alone a daughter!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Hermione Granger doesn't know something! QUICK! RUN FOR THE HILLS!" Hermione playfully smacked George's arm.

"But when he escaped from Azkaban, he was on the run for a while and then took up residence in…the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," Harry said, but Claudia shook her head.

"Why do you think no one could find him? My mother and I lived in Australia until we found out he was on the run. Then she took a trip to London, and somehow found him. She knew he was an animagus. She apparated with him to our house in Australia and let him live with us."

After dinner, and introductions, they made their way up to the Gryffindor dormitories where Hermione and Ron helped the female and male students, respectively, get to their rooms.

"First years, your rooms will be up these stairs to the very left. You will go through the door that says First Year Dorm and up another flight of stairs. Second and third years, you will do the same but your doors will be to the right of the year below you, and you will also go up one floor. Fourth and fifth years, you will be going up two floors, and sixth and seventh years will be going up three floors.

The rooms have your names on them, so they won't be hard to find. There are also small study rooms on the third floor, as you older students already know, for the purpose of not having to schlep all the way down here to sit in comfortable chairs. Any questions?" Hermione said to the girls. They shook their heads and began filing through the main two-way door to the girls' dormitories.

"You heard her, lads. The same goes for you, except the other way around. First years will go all the way to the right and up those stairs. All other years will go through the doors to the left of the year below you. Clear?" Ron asked. They nodded, and like the girls, they went up to their floors, then rooms, with some pushing and shoving.

"As always, you make me do all the work," Hermione said.

"Hey, you opened your mouth first, not me. So you see, you really volunteered."

"Ron, you are impossible!"

"I know."

Hermione shook her head and headed up three flights of stairs to the 6th year rooms. She would be rooming with Lavender Brown, a black long haired girl named Carrie Miller, and a girl with soft curly chocolate colored hair named Sherry Felton. Ginny found herself with girls she hadn't known before, but had seen around. Maggie Bloom, Nikki Nelsh, and Ava Reese.

The first, second, and third floors had five rooms that fit six people each, the fourth and fifth floors had ten triples, and the sixth and seventh floors had twelve doubles and six singles. This system was one used in three of the houses; Salazaar Slytherin didn't think it was that important to keep boys and girls apart. He found it more important for them to mix and experience living together – to learn how to interact with each other from a young age so that they wouldn't have trouble later on. He also felt that school was more important than keeping the genders separated.

Seventh year students could apply in the summer before they started their last year for the singles and whoever the faculty thought was best in these six rooms were notified before school started.

* * *

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* * *

Claudia waited for everyone to leave the Ravenclaw common room, and finally walked through the large main door to the girls' dormitories. She walked into a hallway with three doors, and walked through the one in the middle that read Fourth and Fifth year Dormitories. She walked up a staircase that was straight for about a minute, but then spiraled widely. She finally came to a hallway with two doors, and took the one on the right, which said 'Fifth Year Student Dormitory.'

She entered into a very wide hallway with nine doors on either side (twelve of them were doubles, and the other six singles). The hallway was filled with students, which she tried to wind around, and looked at every door to see where her name was. She finally found her door, number 5 on the right side. On her door were two other names – Olivia Hurdwood and Danielle Appleberry.

She opened the door and found herself in a large room with three canopy beds, two of which were already taken. Which was fine, because she preferred the one that was left empty, anyway – the one nearest to the door. There were two girls in the room who were currently chatting to themselves and unpacking their trunks, who looked over at her when she walked in.

"Hi, you must be Claudia. I'm Danielle, but just call me Nell, and this is Liv," said the girl with reddish slightly wavy hair that barely touched her shoulders. Olivia, or Liv, rather, had black hair done up in a high ponytail that reached her shoulders.

"Yeah, that's me," Claudia answered.

"So I haven't seen you before…then again, each of the seven years have almost thirty students in each house," Olivia said as she pulled a red sweater out of her trunk and folded and placed it in a drawer.

"That's because I transferred from the Sydney Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Australia."

"What finally made you change schools?"

"I…wanted a change. I wanted to move back here, and my mother agreed."

She took a poster of the band Black Sabbath out from her trunk, and Nell shouted.

"I LOVE Black Sabbath!" Claudia grinned.

"You do know that it's a muggle thing, right?"

"Well, yeah, but so? It's amazing. Ozzy's a genius."

Claudia smiled. She could tell this was going to be a much greater year at school than she's had in a long time.

* * *

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* * *

"Draco!"

Draco turned and saw his cousin down the hallway.

"Hey."

"How are you?" she asked when she reached him.

"Fine. You?"

"I'm…okay."

But she wasn't. She had just lost a father, and he knew. Everyone knew about the heroic death of Sirius Black, and that he was cleared of all charges, but no one except for a few select people knew she was his daughter.

"Are you sure?"

"No…but I'll deal with it. Time heals all wounds…supposedly. I don't think it'll heal this one."

"I wish I could do something for you."

"Don't worry about it. Just stay in touch for once, okay?"

He smiled and squeezed her left shoulder.

"Sure." They heard gasps from behind Draco, and he turned to see the dream team and friends. "Close your mouths. You'll catch flies."

"Draco…these are my…friends. I know you hate them, but –"

"It's not for me to decide who your friends are, Claudia. I'm not mad. I have to go to potions, or I'll be late. See you around." He then turned his attention to the group. "If you hurt her, I'll be coming after you." He then turned and walked down the hall, turned a corner, and was gone. No one except Ginny noticed the lingering look he gave her before he left.

"We'd better head to class, too," said Hermione. They agreed, still stunned by Malfoy's show of affection for someone, and went their separate ways.

'_Why did he look at me like that? Was it because of the conversation we had three months ago?'_ Ginny asked herself silently. She shrugged it off as she headed to Divination with Claudia.

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I hope you all liked it! Please review, I love reviews! Thanks for reading! I'll update soon.


	3. It's because he hated your father

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that's not mine. I DO own Claudia, Morgan, Olivia, Nell, Zack, and the others I made up.

I don't know why people aren't reviewing...please review. It makes me update faster and makes me happy. I really appreciate reviews. And please don't put my story on your favorite story or story alert lists and then not review. If you like it enough to put it on one of your lists, please review. It's extremely discouraging to not get any reviews after putting up two chapters.

Well, here's the third. I hope you enjoy.

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And all I could taste is this moment

And all I could breathe is your life

And Sooner or later, it's over

I just don't wanna miss you tonight

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* * *

"Hey! Wake up! Claudia, wake up! Argh it's not working, Liv!"

"Use that whistle you have. She has great hearing, so that should get her up," Olivia suggested.

"Yeah, it should. _Accio_ whistle." Her whistle flew towards her and she caught it, then promptly blew it near Claudia's head. She jumped up and yelped.

"What in Merlin's name was THAT for?!" she yelled.

"You wouldn't get up! We only have twenty minutes to eat and get to divination!" Nell yelled back.

"Alright alright! I'm up, geez. Who do we have divination with?"

"The Gryffindors," Olivia said.

They walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and Ginny hurried over to them.

"I was wondering when you'd show up here! It's almost time for classes!" Ginny said.

"She was hard to wake up. I don't think we were properly introduced," Nell said. She was clearly the more outgoing of her and Olivia. "My name is Nell, and this is Liv."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ginny."

"Yeah I figured. The Weasley hair gave you away," said Nell. Ginny scowled slightly but waved it off.

"Yeah, well. If that's what works."

"Hey! You're the one with the amazing bat bogey hex, aren't you?" Olivia asked. Ginny smiled brightly.

"That's me."

"Haha you got Parvati Patil good last year and I was lucky enough to see it. I was laughing so hard for days," Nell said grinning.

"Thanks. She needed it, though. She strung up my underwear all along the hallways of Gryffindor. But what do I care. She'll grow up to be an old biddy with fifty cats."

They finished breakfast and then scurried up to the divination tower, managing to be only one minute late. Professor Trelawney, however, did not even notice.

* * *

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* * *

It was lunchtime, and Ron was on his daily rant about Slytherins and Snape after a particularly nasty potions class.

"They're annoying, slimy gits! They don't care about anything except themselves! And Snape! Why can't he take points away from his own house for once?"

"Because he just doesn't, Ron. Leave it alone and eat," Harry grumbled. Snape had taken 20 points from Gryffindor just because Ron shot a remark at Draco, who had made fun of 'the Weasel's lack of ability in Potions.'

"I don't understand why Malfoy always picks on you," Ginny said. "Or why he always makes such awful remarks."

"It's because he's an ass who thinks the whole world revolves around him," Ron said. Apparently, this was the worst thing he could have said for Claudia turned on him, got out of her seat, and walked towards him, pointing a finger at his chest.

"Don't you EVER say anything like that about someone you don't know!"

"What?! I DO know him! We all do! For many years!" Ron argued. No one bothered to correct his bad grammar.

"Oh yeah? What's his favorite color?"

"Green, of course."

"No! It's blue! What's his favorite band? What's his favorite flavor of ice cream? What's his goal in life? You don't know ANYTHING about him! So don't you dare judge him like that!"

"Claudia, all he's ever shown us is hatred-" Harry began, but she cut him off.

"That's because you never gave him any chances. You immediately assumed he was an evil git because he has a death eater parent and he's in Slytherin, and doesn't deserve any happiness in life. Well guess what. By what you all have been doing, you've lowered yourselves further than what Draco is in your eyes. Don't give me that look! He never judged you!"

"He always sneers at us and is awful to us!" Ron argued.

"Oh boo hoo. You know whose fault that is? Yours. Because you never gave him a bloody chance. How do you know that he's actually planning your murder? How do you know he never feels pain when he sees all of you together, laughing, having fun?"

"He does?" Hermione asked, shocked. Claudia realized her slip, and immediately covered it, but Ginny noticed, though she said nothing.

"I'm giving you all examples, Hermione. I'm not saying that's what he actually feels, though it could very well be."

"Claudia, you're going to have to deal with this feud as our friend. I'm sorry, but we just don't like each other," Hermione said gently. Claudia sighed.

"It's not fair to me to have to always hear this all the time! He's my cousin and like a brother to me! It's like me telling Ron that Ginny is the worst human being on the Earth!"

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Gin, but it is the same since Ron is your brother."

"Ginny is NOT the worst human being on Earth!" Ron said defensively.

"I know she's not, Ron. She IS my friend, in case you haven't noticed. I was giving you an example and you just proved my point."

"…"

"But now you see how I feel. Just multiply it by ten."

"Well, anyway," Harry began, to change the subject. "Snape was awful today. He didn't say a word to the Slytherins. Typical."

"He's a slimy git, too!"

"Now _that_ I agree with."

"What did he do to you, Claudia?" Ginny asked.

"He just hates me. For no reason at all. Even though my potion was perfect, he gave me a poor on it."

"It's because you're Sirius Black's daughter," Harry said. She looked at him.

"What? Why would that be the reason?"

"He hated Sirius when they were in school, though I don't blame him. As much as I care for Sirius, he and my dad were awful to Snape. It's why he hates me, too. Because I'm the 'spawn' of James potter."

"Miss Black, shouldn't you be at your own table?" They all spun to where the voice came from and saw Professor Snape.

"I'm quite fine where I am, thank you."

"Hm. Don't forget your detention with me this Friday night."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Careful, Miss Black. You wouldn't want people thinking you were trying to follow in your father's arrogant footsteps."

"You know _nothing_ about my father!"

"Detention next Friday, Miss Black." She shot up out of her seat and was about to scream at Snape, but Ginny and Fred caught her and pulled her down. George put a hand over her mouth and she watched Snape walk away, smirking to himself.

"That stupid, disgusting, greasy, insufferable GIT!"

"Do you _want_ another detention??!" Ginny asked.

"That is completely unfair! To hate someone because you hated their parents! I'm going to the headmaster about this! And I'm telling him about how unfair Snape is to you, too, Harry!"

"Don't bother, Claudia."

"No! I WILL bother! I will NOT let him say things about my father! I don't care about how awful he was to Snape! He was taken to Azkaban shortly after I was born and I just got to know him within the last three years and I just _lost_ him! How could he be so cruel?" She was crying now. "I have to go."

"Claudia!" Ginny called, but the girl left the Great Hall.

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* * *

Ginny followed Claudia, but she soon found out that the girl wasn't going to Gryffindor. She was heading towards the dungeons. They were still on the first floor, but Ginny knew this castle better than her, and could tell where Claudia was headed. She continued to follow her, and realized that Claudia was trying to find something, or someone.

Finally, it seemed that Claudia found what she was looking for. She ran up to a person Ginny couldn't recognize because she was too far back, and saw the girl wrap her arms around him. He turned around, and Ginny saw that it was Malfoy.

"Claudia, what's wrong? You're crying! What happened??" Draco gently gripped her shoulders and looked at her face, then he wiped away her tears. Ginny's heart softened at this gesture.

"S-Snape! He targets Harry and I just because he hated our fathers! He gave me a poor on a potion that was perfect, damnit! PERFECT!" she screamed. "And then he insulted my father!"

"I'll talk to him. He likes me."

"Why would he listen to you? You're just a student."

"He's my godfather."

Both Ginny's and Claudia's eyes widened.

"He is?"

"Yes. I'll talk to him about you, but I won't talk to him about being nice to Potter."

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome. After all, I have to protect my kin," he said, smirking. She laughed and he wiped away a few more of her tears.

"Want to come hang out with me? I'm going to see Pansy, Blaise, Theo, and Jack."

"Maybe."

Ginny, who's eyes were now shimmering with tears, just sat there, not moving in case she disturbed them. She felt awful. They really were horrible people to Malfoy and the Slytherins. Snape deserved their hate, but did Malfoy? She realized that he really didn't. He also made her feel a little better three months ago during the last part of her fourth year when they were outside by the lake.

"Draco?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to…you know…take up on the offer?"

"More like order. Why would you even ask that question? You know my answer. I wouldn't do anything that bastard who calls himself my father says, or that wrinkled half blood fool."

"I know, I was just wondering. You'd be safer, you know."

"No I wouldn't. As long as you, my mother, Snape, and LOAA stay with me, I'm the strongest I'll ever be."

Ginny's heart clenched at this. He hated his father? And he loved his cousin and mother more than anything else in the world…and Snape, which was hard to understand. And what was LOAA? She knew she shouldn't have been listening, but she couldn't leave now.

"Thank you, Draco. I don't ever want to lose you." She laid her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Nor do I want to lose you. I promise you, if Lucius ever gets out of Azkaban and tries to convert you again, he will die by my hands." She cried softly in his chest and hugged him.

"I love you."

"I love you, too. You'll always be my little sister, you know that, right? Cousin or not." She laughed a little at this.

"Yes."

There was a short silence, but Draco broke it.

"So…Ravenclaw, huh?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd be in Gryffindor, with Sirius being my father and all."

"Yeah, I sort of figured, but I wasn't too surprised when you were sorted into Ravenclaw. You're very bright." He grinned. "Why'd the hat take so long?"

"It couldn't choose between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I'm sorry I didn't get into Slytherin…"

"Listen to me. It's your choice, not mine. Well…it's not just your choice. It's also who you are. If you're not Slytherin, you're not Slytherin. If you're not Gryffindor, you're not. Don't ever make your decisions based on what other people think." This made her smile reappear.

"Thank you."

He smiled at her, which made her a little happier. They heard gasps, and turned to see Ron, Harry, and Hermione, who had just recently found Claudia by using the Marauder's Map when they couldn't find her in the common room or her room in the fifth year dorm. Harry felt a guilty pang in his heart for all of the fights he had with Draco. If he had a big enough heart for such a happy person like Claudia to love him, and to not be angry that she was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin, he couldn't be as bad as they all thought he was.

Draco straightened at the sight of them.

"What? Can't deal with the fact that I actually care about someone? Is that too much for your inflated heads to comprehend?" He sneered at them, thoroughly disgusted. "You know, eavesdropping is a very Slytherin thing to do." He chuckled at their faces and turned to Claudia. "Are you coming?"

"Um, I guess not. Send me an owl later, and maybe I will."

"Alright." He walked down the hallway, wondering why he just showed her affection in front of people he hates.

'_You don't hate the Weasley girl…She never did anything to you…'_

'_Where did that come from?'_ he wondered.

He shrugged it off and kept walking, with his hands in his pockets, back to Slytherin territory. Maybe he showed her affection without caring about the others because he secretly wanted them to know that he wasn't the heartless bastard they thought he was? No, that's not it. He didn't give a rat's ass about what they thought of him. They could all go screw themselves, for all he cared. He reached the Slytherin common room, said the password, and walked inside.

"What's got your panties in a twist?"

Draco threw a pillow at Blaise.

"Shut up, Zabini."

"You look down, Drake. What's wrong?" Pansy asked, glaring at Blaise, silently telling him that was the wrong way to ask Draco.

"I'm fine, Pans. I'm just tired."

Pansy and Blaise shared a worried glance at each other as Draco walked up to the sixth year dorm.

"You think he's okay?" she asked. Blaise shrugged and plopped down in a comfortable chair by the fireplace.

"Dunno. I hope so. He's been like this since…"

"Yeah, I know. I won't let him do it," she said with a surge of protectiveness.

"He won't do it anyway, Pansy. You know him. He'll do whatever it takes to disobey Lucius."

"I know. But I still won't let him think about it, even. Come on, lets plan his birthday."

"It's a month away, Pans."

"So? For Draco Malfoy, even a birthday takes a lot of planning." Blaise laughed at this.

"True, very true."

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I hope you like it and review it to tell me how I'm doing. Thanks.


	4. Deep Crimson

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

**Hope you all like this chapter! It is mostly Draco and Ginny, but there are two others in there, too.

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And sooner or later, it's over  
I just don't wanna miss you tonight  
And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand

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Small rivers of deep crimson flowed lightly down pale, peach-colored skin, dripping on navy blue bed sheets. The curtains were drawn so that there was no chance for prying eyes to see anything, even though there was nobody in the room at that moment. She sat cross-legged, watching the blood that matched her equally deep hair fall in rivulets, making wavy lines on her arm as she held it at a slight angle.

This time, she was crying silently; not staring blankly at nothing. This time, she felt the deep depression in which she lived, and felt hopeless, and meaningless, as if she had absolutely no purpose in life. Defenseless, worthless. These were the words that were running through her head. She felt that she had no reason to be there, no reason to live, except for the grief she would cause her few friends and family. Then she thought of the 'Golden Trio,' and let out a short, sadistic laugh.

"Like they would miss me for long. They would have their moment of silence, maybe shed a tear or two if I'm lucky, and go back to their perfect little lives of ignorance and fame, always having each other. What a laugh of a fucking life they're living. Scourgify." She knew that they loved her, but they had each other, and she had no one. Even her best friend, Hermione, was part of that group, and she didn't know Claudia well enough to consider her a best, close friend.

The blood on her bed sheets was cleaned up, but not the red on her left arm. She started to form another cut right below that one, nearly parallel to it, but not quite. When she reached halfway, she cut upward to cross over the previous one to form a sideways number four, only to cross over the bottom line, then go right to cross over the last one she made.

She never planned her designs; they just happened. There was one that looked like a Celtic symbol in the middle of her forearm, and another one that looked Egyptian. She winced, and then hissed; that last line was a particularly deeper one than the rest, therefore hurting more. She placed her Swiss army knife next to her on the bed and bent over, as if trying to get rid of the slight pain, though welcoming it at the same time.

Though there was no one in her room, she needed to get away, and so she left the room to go to her favorite place; a place she thought she would never be disturbed, where she could relax and just forget about everything. She put on her jeans and a black t-shirt, then promptly left.

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* * *

While many people feared and hated him, most envied him for his wealth and 'supposed' freedom. But his life wasn't what they thought it was. He lived a life of abuse, rage, and hatred. There were only six people who he loved, and would die for to protect. He had no other friends than them. He despised the man who liked to call himself a father, but he was, in no way, fit to be one. If Lucius wasn't so powerful with his name and his money in the Wizarding world, he would have been locked away years ago. He called himself a pure blooded, prideful person who was worthy of everyone's respect, yet he worked for and worshiped a half-blood monster who had no compassion in his heart whatsoever. But money and fame do not last forever, and now, he is finally behind bars – though Draco wasn't convinced he would stay there for good. Unless the dementors performed the kiss, Lucius Malfoy would find a way out.

He hated his life. If it were not for those six people, he would have been dead long ago. He started self mutilation when he was eleven years old, but that was just a 'test' run, if you want to call it that. He really began at the age of fourteen. His band knew about it, but they didn't try to stop him because they knew that they wouldn't be able to. While they highly disapproved of his habit, it helped him immensely. He rolled up the loose sleeve of his left arm, and traced the lines on his skin, somehow drawing comfort from them.

He had his own room, being a sixth year student in Slytherin, which had more singles than any other house. He applied for it the summer before and got it, so he never had to worry about drawing the curtains. But he did, anyway, as a sort of comfort zone and as a habit from doing it the past few years. He sat there, on his comfortable bed, thinking about his life and how he would have ended up had it not been for his disgusting father.

And somehow, he suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting in that empty room.

* * *

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* * *

"George, have you seen Ginny?"

"No, Claudia, sorry."

Claudia had approached George in the library after searching for most of the day for Ginny.

"Oh…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk to her."

"Oh. So, how was your day?"

"Pretty good, actually, besides the little skirmish with that bastard Ernie earlier."

"He's an idiotic Hufflepuff. Don't listen to anything he says, and don't let him get to you."

"Yeah I know. But I have a bit of a temper…from my father's side, I guess…heh. And, well, I don't let people walk all over me."

George smirked.

"So I've noticed."

She chuckled and looked into his handsome brown eyes, and thought to herself how good looking he really was.

"What?" he asked. She chuckled again.

"Nothing."

"Tell me. Please?"

His expression was one of innocence and it was adorable – very hard to resist.

"There's nothing to tell!" she laughed.

"Aw Dia, c'mon. I know you were thinking something. And you know you can't resist that nickname." He pouted, making her laugh more.

"Stop it, George!"

"Are you blushing??"

"NO! I am not!" But she was. Her cheeks were a beautiful rosy color, and George found this very amusing. He could think of only one reason why she was blushing, and he was never bold enough with girls before, resulting in losing his chances. So he, against his better judgment, went to kiss her gently, and found that she let him.

* * *

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* * *

She sat on the roof of the Astronomy tower, outside, staring at the stars. She loved to go up there when she was feeling upset, lonely, or even when she felt empty. It was the one place she never felt lonely. She didn't know why, but she felt safe up there, and free, as if nothing in the world could harm her there.

The wind gently blew through her hair, and caressed her freckled face and neck, then brushed over her hands and bare arms, but she did not shiver, even though it was September. She sat down on the cold stone, straightened her legs, and looked up at the stars, leaning back and resting on her hands with her arms positioned behind her.

She closed her eyes and let the wind play with her hair some more, gaining the feeling of being on a big cruise ship, at the very front. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't frowning. To others, she would have looked almost serene, but really, she was emotionless, letting her heart fly with the wind. She no longer felt the despair she felt in her room just twenty minutes earlier, for it had passed, and she cleaned up her arm, save for a small trickle of blood from the deeper cut that would not heal as fast. Self-inflicted wounds never healed by magic, and the scars would never completely fade. It was something never fully explained, or even understood.

She would probably feel depressed later on, as she just was, but now, as she did most of the time, she felt empty and lonely. But she didn't dare tell anyone this. She feared they would make a big fuss, force her to see a counselor, and take all sharp objects away from her. It was funny…how using those objects was the only thing that she could do to make herself feel something sometimes. No one would understand how much she actually needed her knife to keep the last bit of sanity she had left in her.

'_When everything feels like the movies,  
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive…'_

That part of Iris, her favorite song, described her exactly as she was at this moment. She never tried to kill herself; she wasn't much interested in that, even though it came up a couple of times. But her depression was getting worse, and she thought about it more often than she used to. She felt emotional pain a lot, but when she was in this blank, empty state, she felt as if she never felt anything else before. It was in this state that she cut herself most, to make sure that she could still feel.

She also did it when she was depressed, to make the pain go away – quite the opposite of the other reason. Now, she did not have anything on her to make another line on her arm, but her arm was not completely empty, so she knew. She knew, whenever she looked at the lines, that she could still feel. However, there were times when she didn't want to feel anything at all so that she could escape the deep hurt she felt in her chest.

She was so lost in the stars and the wind, that she did not hear the footsteps near the door of the roof of the tower. It opened quietly, and the intruder's eyes widened when he saw her. He had never seen a more beautiful sight…but then he realized who it was he was gazing at, and quickly threw that thought away.

"Lost in thought, Weasley?"

She jumped and turned towards him, opening her vivid chocolate colored eyes. In the dark, it isn't possible to see the golden veins scattered in them, but in daylight, it makes her eyes almost glow with warmth.

"No," she answered softly. "Maybe…"

"Hm. What are you doing here?"

"I was just enjoying the freedom. It's not every day you get to do that at Hogwarts."

"Hm."

"What are you doing here?"

"Same, I guess."

"I see…" She looked away from his softer than usual icy gray stare and back to the stars.

He then saw her left arm and the trickle of blood in the moonlight, and narrowed his eyes.

"New ones, Weasley? I thought it wasn't like you were going to kill yourself," he said, mimicking her words from four months prior. She whipped her head around to look at him again, causing strands of her hair to get caught blowing across her face.

Due to the wind, however, they fell free, and blew in the opposite direction. She knew what he was referring to, and folded her left arm across her stomach, bringing her legs to her side and holding herself up with her right arm.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't."

He was lying. He folded his arms across his chest, leaned his back against the wall next to the door, and loosely crossed one ankle over the other in a masculine stance. For some reason, this brought slight pain to her, and her heart clenched. She wanted someone to care, even if it was Draco Malfoy.

"Then why did you mention it?" He heard the tightness and pain in her voice, but he didn't say anything, no matter how much he wanted to help her.

"They're not that hard to notice."

At this, she subconsciously pressed the inside of her left arm closer to her stomach, as if to hide them further, smearing the droplet of crimson on her black shirt.

"Like you said, it's not like you care, so go on your way, Malfoy." This sentence was supposed to sound menacing, but it came out of her soft and distant.

"This roof isn't yours, Weasley. I can stay if I want." He expected to get a reaction out of her, but instead, he got the opposite, and was quite surprised.

"Fine. Stay then." She looked away from him and up at the dark night sky again.

"You know, you're out after hours. I could write you up for this, being a Slytherin prefect," he threatened, but his voice defied the meaning of the sentence; his heart wasn't into it.

"Go ahead."

She wasn't satisfying him at all. He wanted to get a rise out of her. Why, he had no idea. It was fun, he decided.

'_It's because she's a hellcat when she gets riled up, and sexy as ever.'_

Draco's eyes widened. _'What?! No way! It's just fun to mess with her!'_

He 'hmphed' silently, and turned his head to look the other direction, the one Ginny wasn't facing. They had a few very peaceful minutes of silence, but then Ginny broke it.

"What are you doing after you graduate?" It was very soft, so Draco had to strain to hear it, but when he did, he scowled.

"I bet you think I'm going to become a death eater, like my _father_," he spat.

"No. I was just making conversation. I don't care about Lucius, or you becoming a death eater. That's your business, not mine."

This took him off guard.

"You don't care? You're Weasel's sister and Potter's faithful follower. You should care. For all you know, I could come after you when I become one." He wasn't ready for her reaction. She turned, shot up from the floor, and was in front of him in a second.

"I am NOT his stupid follower! I am my OWN person! Don't you EVER forget that!"

"Whoa, Weasley, calm down. What's got your knickers in a bunch?"

"Why do guys always say that?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

She turned again and walked around the telescope to the edge of the roof, bent her body slightly, and rested her arms on the ledge of the parapet. He followed her silently, and leaned on the ledge with his waist since there was no upper part he could rest his back on. He put his left arm out to rest it on the stone, standing on Ginny's left.

"Is that why you cut yourself? Because of social reasons?" he asked, surprisingly gentler than his normal cold voice.

"I thought you didn't care about me or what I did."

"I don't."

"Then don't ask."

She was confusing him. She wasn't acting like her normal fiery self; she was acting…distant. Ginny didn't move her head, but she glanced down at his left wrist; she couldn't help herself, after Harry's constant yammering about Malfoy being a death eater. He was wearing a loose shirt that flapped gently in the strong breezes, and she saw something on his skin when the wind moved his sleeve, but she couldn't tell if it was the dark mark or something else, though she was pretty sure, because it looked oddly familiar.

"So what _are _you going to do after school?" she asked again.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in me?"

"I'm not. I'm just making conversation."

"I don't know."

She looked at him, at his stormy grey eyes.

"You don't know? What about your father? Won't he…oh, I'm sorry, that's not my business." She looked down at her hands and her cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment. This puzzled him, yet again.

"Why didn't you finish your question?"

"It's none of my business. Plus, it's wrong of me to ask such a question, or anything about him."

"What that bastard does is none of my concern." He realized he said this out loud, but covered it up with a colder attitude.

"I take it you don't like him much." He snorted.

"What makes you think that." It was more of a sarcastic statement than a question. They spent more time in silence, but as before, Ginny broke it.

"If you're not going to become a death eater…hmm…can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

She frowned.

"If you're not, why did you freak out when Madam Malkin went to pin the left sleeve of your new robes? Harry told me about that. He thinks you're…um, well, you know."

"I don't think that's any of your business, Weasley," he said dangerously. He sounded threatening, but inside, his heart was hammering. He did _not_ want her to find out what was hidden under his sleeve.

"Oh, excuse me for asking."

"You're excused."

Ginny huffed. Then, so quick he almost didn't see it, the left sleeve of his shirt was at his elbow and Ginny was staring at him with an expression that was very hard for him to read. He was torn between yelling at her and trying to tell what she was thinking. He gripped the stone parapet.

"Are you happy? That you figured it out?"

"No," she said quietly.

She looked at his arm again and stared at the crisscrossing, yet neat red lines and white scars. Some were old, some fairly new, and some were clearly made earlier that day. She didn't realize what she was doing until after she'd done it, but she reached up to his arm and lightly ran her fingers over the slightly rough texture, frowning. He was confused, and had no idea why she was doing that, but he made no move to stop her. She looked up at him when she dropped her hand.

"Why?" was all she asked. It was such an innocent-sounding question. He didn't answer. She then saw a scar that looked like it was very deep when he made it, and traced it with her thumb. It was right over two of his veins, she noticed. "I've never gone this deep…" she breathed. _'It's a wonder it didn't kill him.'_

"It's not like I'm trying to kill myself, Weasley." She didn't take note of the fact that Draco had spoken in the present tense. She looked up at him and he saw a ghost of a smile on her lips at the second reference to what she had said during their first meeting.

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**Thank you for reading! And again, I promise I will write more soon. I love reviews! They help me write more because they really motivate me. So please send me some! Thank you!**


	5. Claudia's News and Pansy

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the storyline

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And I don't want the world to see me

Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

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It had been two weeks since Draco and Ginny's second encounter, and the frigid weather of October set in. They had left the astronomy tower together that night, neither saying a word, and went their separate ways.

Huffelpuff and Ravenclaw played the second game of quidditch of the season, and Huffelpuff won it, placing them slightly up in the ranks to play in the House Cup and Claudia in a horrid mood; she had been seeker. The first game had been between Gryffindor and Slytherin one week before, with Gryffindor coming out the victor after a chorus of their version of 'Weasley is our King.'

The chilly air blew through the courtyards around the school and the top layer of the Forbidden Forest, causing the leaves to shudder, and some of them to fall off of their branches. Ginny was sitting outside by the lake in the very same spot where she had first truly met Draco four months prior. It was a Saturday, therefore giving her the entire day to herself, though she had already spent most of it studying and finishing her weekend homework in the library, for it was too cold to do so outdoors.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them, her heart clenching at the sight of a couple holding hands while walking through the main doors. Oh how she wished she was in that girl's place. She often wished that she had a better life. Then, she felt guilty and ashamed for she knew that most would kill to have a loving family like hers. She did feel lucky, and she did appreciate everything she had, but when you're depressed, you always want more. It's not necessarily being selfish, because you can't help it. You can fight it all you want, but it's like an illness; no matter how many times you beat it, if you can, it always comes back unless you find something stronger than it. Then and only then does it leave.

The frigid wind blew her hair in one direction, then changed its course and blew it the other way, causing a few strands to fly in her face. She gently brushed them away, wiping a tear off her cheek in the same action. The sun was beginning to set, making her hair glow with red, orange, and rich golden hues. Pansy Parkinson happened to be walking into the school after taking a walk to ease her mind off of things when she caught the sight of the youngest Weasley's hair, and stared in awe at it. Then she noticed the girl's pained expression, and Pansy's heart gave a little squeeze, having seen that very same look on her best friend many times before. She clutched her hands to her chest, holding her jacket closed, and hurried into the school, not wanting the redhead to notice her.

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"Pans?"

She had walked into the common room and gave a start when she heard Draco call her name. The Native American girl turned to face him and Blaise, who were the only ones in the room, sitting by the fire.

"Yeah?"

Her voice was soft and distant, her mind still concentrated on the Weasley girl.

"What's the matter?" Blaise asked. She shook her head softly and smiled sadly.

"Nothing."

Both of them raised an eyebrow at each other, then glanced at her again.

"Alright. Will you come sit with us?" Draco asked. "Theo's coming down in a bit, as is Zack."

"If you don't mind…I think I'm going to turn in early."

"What about dinner?" Draco asked.

"I'll be fine. Maybe I'll go down to the kitchen a little later to grab a bite. I'm not very hungry right now."

She tried to rush past them without letting them see any tears, but she was not successful. They did not say anything, but they saw her immense sadness.

"I want to know what's wrong with her," Blaise said worriedly.

"I know, mate. Me too…"

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Pansy threw the letter on her floor and dropped down onto her mattress, her body wracking with uncontrollable sobs. First Draco, then Ginny, and now her. Who was next to be plagued by depression? She cursed it. Hers was not nearly as bad as Draco's, or Ginny's, she guessed, by the look on the younger girl's face. But it still hurt. After about ten minutes, or it could have been half an hour, she couldn't tell, she picked up the letter from her floor and began to read it again.

_My Lovely Flower,_

_I miss you terribly. Your mother is horrid, always taking out her anger on myself and our servants. Merlin knows they do everything right and they do not deserve the treatment she gives them. Nor do I, or you. Thank G-d you are not here. The Dark Lord is getting restless, and he is gaining more power by the day. I miss you. I know, I know, you tell me to leave your mother but you know that I can't do that, love. I love you too much to do that to you. It would endanger you and I could never live with myself if I ever let that happen._

_Things here are not as bad as they seem. Your mother may be a pill, but thinking about you always brightens my day. I miss you, love. How many times have I said that already? Haha well, I miss you. And again, I miss you. I miss you so much! I hope you are doing well, and…I miss you! Ha!_

Pansy couldn't see the writing anymore – her vision was blurred and her tears were falling freely down her cheeks. She wiped them away but it was no use; they just kept falling. She clutched the letter to her chest. The rest of it read:

_Please write back to me when you can. You know I worry about you. Also, please give Draco, Blaise, Theo, and Zack my hello and best wishes. Also, as a side note, please tell Draco for me that his life is his choice and to choose wisely. My father told me that and I screwed it up, but I got the best thing in the world out of it – you. I can't express how much I love you. My love, I miss you, darling. I hope I did not make you cry. Hugs and kisses, and freshly baked cookies when you come back home,_

_Dad_

She placed a sound barrier on her door and sobbed her heart out with her face in her pillow, screaming until she couldn't cry or scream anymore. She eventually fell asleep with a pounding headache, something she always got whenever she cried, and let herself sleep through the next morning.

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"And I'd give up forever to touch you, cause I know that you'd feel me somehow. You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't wanna go home right now."

"It's so beautiful…" breathed. Claudia smiled knowingly without looking up from her bed that she was lounging on at that moment. Ginny and Hermione had joined her and they were listening to the radio she had brought with her. Draco's song had come on – though only one person in the room knew who the band was.

'_You're becoming so popular, Drake. It's too bad that the popularity is because of a song that plagues you so._´ Claudia frowned slightly, saddened now because of the thought of her cousin and the song he came up with. If you really read every single sentence, every word, you would realize exactly how sad the song really is. And it described both him and Ginny perfectly, though Claudia did not know about Ginny's painful habit. She only knew about Draco's, and that was by accident. She found out one day at a family reunion Narcissa planned, and he made her swear not to tell anyone. She had kept her promise.

"Isn't this your favorite song, Gin?" Hermione asked. She had joined them an hour ago after lunch. It was a week after Hufflepuff's win over Ravenclaw. Ginny nodded.

Then she thought of Draco. He did the same thing she did, so he must be as depressed as she was. She wondered about what could have caused him to become so similar to her, what could have made him so depressed. And then she felt horrible for everything her friends had done to him over the years.

"Excuse me, please. I'm going to go take a walk," she said, and was gone within a minute, leaving the girls to look at each other curiously, and confused.

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"Come in. Oh, hi, Claudia."

"Hi. Draco…"

"What's wrong?"

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed so he could see her better, and make room for her to sit next to him.

"I just…wanted to see you. I heard Iris on the radio and I got lonely."

"What else?"

"Huh?"

"I get the feeling you came here for more than that reason."

Damn him for knowing her so well.

"…I don't know if you've heard it yet, but…I'm dating someone. I wanted to tell you personally."

"Oh? Why are you so nervous? Is it someone I don't like?"

"Um…well, kind of…"

"Come here." She walked over to the bed and sat down. "Who is it?"

"George Weasley…"

"Oh. That's not bad. I thought for a second that you were going to say Potter."

"But…Draco, the Weasleys are 'blood traitors' according to our society. You really don't have a problem with him?"

"No. And they aren't blood traitors. Not to me, anyway. I couldn't care less about the situation. I have a meeting in a little bit with the band in the room of requirement. You're welcome to join us if you want."

"I have things to do, but thank you." She turned to go, but he stopped her.

"Claudia."

"Hm?"

"Thanks for telling me before I heard it from someone else. Even though I'm not your brother, I tend to think I am, sometimes."

With that, she smiled, and they headed out of Draco's room. Draco to meet up with Pansy, Blaise, Zack, and Theo in the common room, and Claudia to her room.

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I only got one review for my last chapter. That is really disappointing. Do you know how upsetting it is to see how many hits your story has, then how _few_ reviews there are, if any? It's _so _discouraging. Please review, even if all you have to say is "good chapter" or "update soon" or even criticism.

The next chapter is coming soon. It is already almost finished.

While you are waiting for the next chapter, you should get the songs Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls and Learn to be Lonely from the soundtrack of Phantom of the Opera, the 2004 version.


	6. Learn to be Lonely

Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with the original series. Just this story and my characters. If you would like to use one of my characters, please ask me first. One of the scenes in this story was taken from _Titanic_, and I do not take credit for it. You'll know it when you come to it.

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When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

And you cannot fight the tears that ain't comin'

Or the moment of truth in your lies

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"So what I was thinking is we should tell the Order our plans this Saturday when we go."

"Hermione, I don't think that's the best idea," Harry said.

"Why? Why not tell them? So we can be left to do everything on our own and figure out leads on our own and, and, _fight_ on our own? Harry, be sensible! Yes, they might try to make us think of a different way, or make us not go at all at the end of the year, but something good will come of it. After all of the arguing, _someone_ is going to calm things down and people will come to their senses and help us. Harry, we need all the help we can get."

"I like that, I agree with Mione," Ron added. Harry gave him a look that stated 'shut up,' and Ron sat back in his seat.

They were in the library speaking softly so that no one could overhear.

"You _know_ they'll try to stop us!" Harry gritted out.

"But they _won't_, and we will make that clear to them," Hermione persisted. "We will make them see that we can't be budged, and who knows – we might even get one or two of them to go with us and help, Harry! We can't do this alone – we can't fight experienced wizards and witches and find and destroy horcruxes by ourselves!"

"Horcruxes?"

All three of them jerked in surprise and whirled around to face Ginny, their hearts beating in their chests.

"What are horcruxes? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, Gin," Ron said protectively, frightened of what would happen if his sister got involved in their plans. Ginny's features hardened.

"If you are planning what you'll be doing to defeat Voldemort, then I want to fight, as well!"

"You're too young, Ginny – " Hermione started, but was interrupted.

"I am NOT too young! If you recall, Hermione, I am not even a year younger than Ron! We are ten months apart! Also, remember that I have faced Voldemort before. He may have been his former self, and a memory, but I know what he's capable of and I know I can fight him. Have you seen my grades? They're almost matching yours." Hermione looked taken aback.

"Ginny, I…we're only trying to protect you." Ginny's response to this did not sound angry. It sounded almost emotionless, and soft.

"By protecting me, do you mean by keeping me locked up in a cage, ignorant and lonely, watching my best friends and brothers walk out the door to go fight in a war I could fight in as well? Knowing that you are all risking your lives to protect something that I would do anything to protect, too, and also that you could be dying and I wouldn't even know?"

"Ginny…" Hermione couldn't say anything to this.

"I'm just as good as any of you. I've fought death eaters before, in the Department of Mysteries/ Or have you forgotten?"

And then Harry opened his mouth. He was astonished that his sweet little Ginny, his sweet little sister-figure, wanted to fight alongside them, and he couldn't imagine her doing that.

"But…but Gin, you're…you're too sweet, why would you want to? You're too docile, too mellow…I don't want you to fight!"

Ginny's eyes flashed with anger, and Harry actually had the decency to look wary.

"That's right. I'm just poor, sweet, gentle Ginny who does what everyone says. I can't do anything right on my own." She turned and left them, but not before they noticed the wetness in her eyes.

"Oh way to go, Harry." Hermione got up and walked swiftly out of the library, heading to the Gryffindor common room

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She ran. She had to get away from…she didn't know, but she had to somehow get away from it, but it wouldn't go away. It wouldn't leave her alone. That aching, pounding feeling that pulled her down, squeezed her chest, and blinded her with deep sadness was taking over, and she found herself at the top of the Astronomy tower, as she did so many lonely nights. She placed her hands on the stone railing to lean forward slightly, letting the wind catch her hair. The soft light from the sunset made her hair glow with reds, oranges, and gold, making it look like the sunset itself.

She sighed and closed her eyes, singing in a soft voice.

"And I don't want the world to see me…cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am…And you can't fight the tears that ain't comin,' or the moment of truth in your lies. When everything feels like the movies…yeah you bleed just to know you're alive…"

She didn't even hear the door open, and therefore, did not see Draco standing there, eyes slightly widened and his mouth open in awe.

'_She's singing my song…_'

She stopped. He was about to make himself known, when she started singing a different song, the sound of tears evident in her voice.

"Child of the wilderness, born into emptiness, learn to be lonely…learn to find your way in darkness. Who will be there for you…comfort and care for you? Learn to be lonely. Learn to be your one companion. Ever dreamed out in the world, there are arms to hold you? You've always known…your heart was on its own. So laugh in your loneliness…child of the wilderness…learn to be lonely…learn how to love life that is lived alone…" But she couldn't finish. Crying and still clutching the stone railing, she lifted herself up and climbed over it, swinging her legs over to rest on the outside ledge.

Draco's eyes bulged. He wanted to rush forward, but he knew that would scare her and cause her to fall. She was holding onto the railing when she leaned forward and closed her eyes, letting the wind catch her hair. She looked like a falling angel, except she wasn't falling. If he didn't do something soon, though, she might. He stepped forward tentatively, and when he was almost close enough to touch her, he spoke.

"Don't."

She whipped her head around, almost losing her grip on the stone parapet. When he said that to her, her heart gave a lurch, pounding ferociously.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! At least make some noise before you walk up behind someone like that!" she said with more fright in her voice than anger.

"No offense, Weasley – I'm not the one hanging off the astronomy tower. As to my silence, I didn't want to rush up to you and scare you even more."

"Go away, you're distracting me."

"I can't."

"What?" she asked, clearly surprised by his answer. "What do you mean, you can't? Of course you can. Just turn around and walk away, like everyone else has." At her soft words, his heart clenched.

"I'm involved, now. If you jump, I'm coming after you. I must say, though, I'm not looking forward to it. My broom is in my dorm, and I can't exactly summon it that quickly."

"Don't be stupid. The fall would kill you."

"It wouldn't kill me. It would hurt like hell, but I could cast a cushioning charm, no problem."

"You would risk your life for someone you don't even know?"

"Would you?" Ginny looked away, knowing she would.

"What if I don't want to be saved?" she asked quietly.

"Everyone wants to be saved, Weasley. Now come on." He reached out a hand to her, and she looked at him.

"Don't come any closer, Malfoy, or I'll jump."

"You're not going to, so come on. Take my hand."

"Don't presume you know what I will and will not do! You don't know me!"

"If you were going to, you would have jumped already. Have you ever been to Glouchester?" he suddenly said.

"What?"

"It's where I was born. Somewhere near the manor was a cave that dropped about thirty feet. I decided I wanted to go spalunking – spalunking is cave diving –"

"I know what spalunking is!"

"Sorry…you just look like a girl who…doesn't do those kinds of things. Anyway, I didn't secure myself well, and I fell. Let me tell you…a fall like that, like the one to the roof of the Great Hall down there, hits you like a train running over you. So I'm hoping that you'll cut me a break here, and come back over the parapet."

Ginny looked back at the stone roof below her, which was so far away now that her head cleared a bit. She slowly turned around, now actually scared of falling to her death. She took hold of his hand and he took her elbow with his other hand, pulling her over. She lost her footing, but he had a gentle but iron grip on her, so she didn't fall.

He didn't want to let go of her, almost afraid that she would disappear, but he had to. It was then when he noticed blood on his shirt, and looked confused until he saw the cuts she had made. The underside of her lower left arm was covered in little slits and cuts, some deeper than others, but none were deep enough to have been an attempt at suicide, nor did they look like she had tried, he noticed.

"I…I'm sorry, for getting blood on your shirt." Her tears were constant, now, one after the other, falling down her pretty face.

"That's what you're sorry for?" He looked at her incredulously, and she looked away sheepishly. He took her small hand in his and with his wand, cleared the blood. He could not heal the wounds, as they were self-inflicted, but they had already closed themselves because they were shallow.

"I know what you must be thinking," she said softly. "Poor little Ginny Weasley. She has the world's most loving family and a seemingly wonderful life. Sweet little Ginny – what could she possibly know of pain and misery?"

"No, no that's not what I'm thinking." She glanced at him through the corners of her eyes, surprised that that's not what was going through his mind, and curious as to what he would say next. "I'm thinking what could have possibly happened to Ginny Weasley for her to be so unhappy with her life that made her think she had no way out."

A gentle gust of wind blew her hair off her shoulder and her bangs away from her eyes as she tried to look into his to figure out what happened to the stuck up, arrogant, malicious boy she knew from her first few years at Hogwarts.

"What's happened to you?" It was his turn to be confused.

"Huh?"

"Why are you being like this? Why not insult me about what just happened?"

"You're not the only one in this world who feels the same way you do," was all he needed to say for Ginny to realize what she had said.

"I didn't mean it that way…I just…I'm used to…"

"I don't like to let people know that I'm not actually an evil bastard." A small half-smile appeared on her face, which, to him, was worth the little bit of pride he lost when he told her that.

"It's not fair that we have to be so different to the people we know…"

Draco looked out at the lake

"My friends know, but I don't let them in as much as I would like to." He looked back at her. "Why am I talking about this with you?"

"I don't know."

There was a comfortable silence that passed between them, and then Ginny spoke.

"My parents, my brothers…even Harry and Hermione…I can't reveal anything to them. They would throw a fit, then lock me up in St. Mungo's with a therapist. They wouldn't understand because they've never felt dep…" She did not know why, but she couldn't finish the word. "That song…Iris…it describes me so much. I feel like it was written about me, just for me." She gave a little chuckle. "That's foolish of me…to tell you how a song makes me feel."

Draco glanced at her.

'Not at all…" 'S_he's almost exactly like the person in my song…and like me. Why is such a beautiful, smart girl with a wonderful family and friends so depressed?_'

"What caused it?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Why did you become so distant and sad?" The question seemed so childlike, but she really wanted to know. It took Draco a little while to answer, but he eventually did.

"Lucius is the main reason. Then there are other reasons here and there. He would beat me when I was young, and then my mother when she tried to stop him. Now that I am older, he uses the cruciatus curse on me and my mother has learned to not interfere. I don't blame her." He glanced at Ginny again and was confused when he saw tears in her eyes.

"He…he used the cruciatus? On his own child?" she whispered, covering her mouth with her hands. She was horrified, and felt awful. Two tears fell from her eyes. Now she understood; he didn't even have to explain anything else. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be."

"I shouldn't be like this…I…you're life is so much worse than mine."

"Never, ever say that. To each person, their bad situations are just as awful to themselves as other people's are to them. Mine may be worse to me, but I'm sure yours is just as bad to you. Also, depression is a chemical imbalance. Even if nothing is truly wrong with your life, you still feel it."

"You're so understanding…why are you being so sweet, Dra…um…sorry."

"It's alright. You can call me Draco." She smiled. "And to answer your question, I don't feel the need to hide right now."

"Somehow, neither do I," she answered.

And for the first time in the many years she knew him, she saw Draco smile.

"You don't have to be lonely," he said, talking about the second song she sang earlier.

She looked away, letting a tear escape.

"Life can be lived…life can be loved alone," she replied, quoting the last line of the second song she was singing.

"No, it can't, and you know that. Everyone needs someone, and if I'm the one you need, so be it. You might be the person…someone else needs, too. I'm the only person you know, even if you don't know me well, who understands what you're going through. You're not alone, Ginny."

She broke out in silent sobs and he took her into his arms after resting his chin on her head, offering comfort. Ginny, being lonely for as long as she could remember, took it gratefully.

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I'm working on a few stories at the same time, but I will try to get it out soon. Thanks for sticking with me.


	7. Dreams

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything having to do with Harry Potter except my characters and this plot.

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! They make me so happy. The line Ginny says "It's nice to have a fan" was taken from Spiderman, and it is not mine.

I hope I've cleared some things up!

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And you cannot fight the tears that ain't comin'

Or the moment of truth in your lies

When everything feels like the movies

Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive

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"Hey, Gin."

"Hi, Colin."

"How've you been? Where've you been? I haven't seen you lately. Not even in the common room."

"Oh…around. I've been busy…sorry."

"It's okay."

They were sitting in History of Magic waiting for Professor Binns to appear.

"I'm sorry…it's not okay. I should hang out with you and Luna more."

"Ginny, I understand. You have a lot of work. It's OWL year…I still don't understand why you're taking so many classes."

"I want as much under my belt as I can when I graduate so I don't have a lot of trouble getting a job."

"Yeah, but don't you want to concentrate in what you love to do most rather than many things? Sure, you'll have all those skills, but you won't excel in one unless you go to University."

"…I do plan on going to University. I just don't know what for, yet. I have three years to think about that – two more here and one off before I go."

"Okay. Oh, man! I was hoping Binns wouldn't show."

"You always say that and he always shows. He's a ghost, Colin."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't hurt to hope."

Ginny could not pay attention. Her mind kept wandering to the night before, when she almost jumped from the Astronomy tower after her encounter with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the library, and when Draco Malfoy walked in on her and stopped it. He actually helped her, and even threatened to jump after her if she let go. She knew she wasn't going to, but she wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. But if she didn't make something of herself, she would only ever be known as Ginny Weasley, the shadow of the Golden Trio. Poor, sweet, gentle, good-doer who jumped off a tower. She didn't want to be known as that; what made her think she would be known as anything else if she left this world? Even so, that thought didn't stop her from wanting it. Something held her back, though. Was it the slight caring tone in Malfoy's voice? She didn't know. She barely noticed it, and passed it off as worry that he would be pinned with her death. But…he was so gentle, and he did help her. He even _hugged_ her. She was so confused, and her feelings were so mixed up.

And…he _did_ tell her she could call him by his first name. She knew that in Slytherin, only their closest friends called them by their first names, which made her wonder why he allowed her to call him Draco. He even seemed like he really didn't mind it, and encouraged it. Well, maybe she was going too far by thinking that.

"Ginny? Gin?" Colin poked her, causing her to jump in surprise and glance at him. "What? No glare? No sharp comment on my poking? What's up with you, Gin? Class is over, by the way." She stood and picked up her bag, staring off into the distance.

"That's a stupid thing to be mad about. You brought me out of my space-out because class is over. Thank you."

Colin watched as his best friend walked away in a trance-like state, her voice softer than he's ever heard it. He had to speak to Hermione.

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It has been a full month since students returned to Hogwarts, and rumors of what would happen for Halloween this year. There has always been a ball, but there are also always parties in each house that people go to, and sometimes party-hop.

"So?"

Ginny started, and looked at Lavender.

"Huh?"

Lavender sighed and shook her head.

"I asked you what you were doing for Halloween this year. You know…if you were doing anything other than going to the ball."

"If you mean the Gryffindor party, no."

"Are you going to another party?"

"No, I'm not going to any of them. Those types of parties don't really appeal to me. Sorry, but I have to go do work, Lavender. I'll see you later."

"Sure…bye…" Even Lavender, someone who didn't know Ginny very well, could tell that something was wrong. While Ginny was amazing at hiding her depression, it still shone through sometimes.

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After Ginny finished her potions essay, she decided to head to the astronomy tower. It was late in the day, and the sun was already setting. She left the Gryffindor common room and made her way downstairs to the main hall; she had to cross the castle to get to the tower. There were barely any students wandering the halls as it was a Thursday evening and most people were either in class, the library, or their houses. But there was one person, and she saw him just as she was about to climb the stairs to the second floor.

"Hi," he said.

"Uh…hi."

"I haven't talked to you in a while."

"Yeah…"

It was clear that Ginny didn't feel like talking much, so he would have to.

"Where are you headed?"

"The astronomy tower. …You can join, if you want…"

"…Sure. Thanks."

She smiled, and continued up the long staircase. When they reached the top of the stairs, Draco held open the large wooden door for Ginny and they stepped out into the chilly night air. The sun fully set, so they were bathed in shards of moonlight that seeped through the puffy cloud that was currently obscuring the moon. Other than that one cloud, the sky was clear.

They sat in comfortable silence, neither feeling awkward, or the need to talk. Draco leaned backwards and rested his back on the cold stone of the wall, his knees loosely bent and his arms to his sides. His hands felt the cold of the stone floor, but it didn't really bother him. Ginny usually loved the cold, and snow was her favorite type of weather, so she didn't mind, either. She sat next to him – not too close, but not too far away, and she brought her knees up to her chest, then wrapped her arms around them. She may love the cold, but that did not mean she was immune to it.

"Are you cold?" came Draco's soft voice. She looked up at him, slightly startled.

"Huh?"

"Are you cold?"

"Oh, not really. Just a bit chilly, is all, but my cloak will do."

They lapsed into another silence, but this one only lasted about a minute.

"Draco?"

"Mm?"

"Do you…have dreams?" How silly that sounded, but it came out, anyway.

"Of course I have dreams. Who doesn't?"

"I was just wondering…what they might be."

"What are yours?"

Instead of saying, 'I asked you first,' she shrugged and rested her chin on her knees.

"I've always wanted…well…"

"…?"

"It's stupid, never mind."

"No dream is stupid, Ginny."

"You'll probably think I'm a foolish little girl. It's a dream that can't ever come true."

"And why can't it? All dreams can come true if you work at them."

"I just know it. It's not the type of thing that happens to someone like me."

"Someone like you? So it can't happen to me, either?"

"No, no, just me."

"What is it, Ginny?"

"I…want a family…a loving boyfriend who proposes to me when the time is right, who I marry a year later and have his children. It's a stupid, romantic dream."

"That's not stupid at all. Everyone wants something like that, to be loved."

"Even you?" Ginny dared to ask. Draco's wall almost flew up to barricade him, but he stopped himself before that happened. This was Ginny Weasley; she wouldn't tell anyone what he wanted, what he thought. And she had the same dream he did…

"Even me. Why do you say that dream can never be yours?"

"Because…I'm too depressing, I'm good for nothing, I can't do anything, I can't ever help out. Everyone sees me as the goody, silent, do-as-everybody-says follower. That I can't be my own person, that I'm not strong enough. People baby me."

"Ah, the truth comes out. But, not everyone sees that." Ginny looked at him.

"No?"

"No." She smiled at that, and she didn't need him to say outright that it was himself he was referring to.

"Well, it's nice to have a fan." Ginny leaned her back against the wall, further away from her knees. "What are your dreams?"

"Honestly?" Ginny nodded. "One is to have a loving family, like yours, and…"

"Draco?" Ginny asked after he stayed silent for about ten seconds.

"I…it's…I can't say. You would hate me for it, everyone would. It's not a nice dream. Well…I guess you could say it is, in a very sick and morbid way."

"You said no dream is stupid. What is it?"

"…It's to have been able to kill my father, to avenge my mother for what he has done to her, to you, and revenge for myself. I know, it's very morbid and something that would get me expelled and thrown in jail, but I would take so much pleasure in doing it…that everything I would get as punishment would be completely worth it."

She put a comforting hand on his arm.

"I don't see you as anything more than an abused son. I don't see you as a murderer."

"You don't?"

"No. I would feel the same if I were in your situation, but not so brave. He probably would have broken me completely by now."

"You're stronger than you think. Cutting may be a sign of weakness to some, but it's a sign of strength to others, and to me. It means that if you suffer just a little, you can get through a lot. You're in control, no one else and with that knowledge, you can get through anything. And, you've lasted this long." This got him to thinking. "Ginny, have you ever tried to kill yourself?"

"No. You?"

"Yes."

This she wasn't expecting, and she sat up very fast to look at him with worried eyes.

"What? When?"

"Remember last June when I met you by the lake that night and noticed you had cuts on your arm?" Ginny gulped and nodded slowly. "Earlier that night, I had tried and failed. I lost a lot of blood, but not enough to make me too weak; I've always been a fast healer, and it closed up." Suddenly, she reached over him and pulled his left arm towards her, pushing up his sleeve.

"This is it, isn't it?" she asked, indicating the scar that looked like the gash had been very deep. She noticed it the first time when she discovered that his arm was riddled with cuts, but she thought nothing of it. He nodded, and pulled his arm back, covering it up again and feeling slightly uncomfortable. He had never opened up to anyone before as much as he had with Ginny, and that made him feel a bit uneasy. He had no idea why he felt he could trust her. _'Because she's just like me…'_ he thought.

"Draco, why would you do that?" she asked. Such an innocent question, he thought, but he would answer it.

"My father had almost beaten me to death a week before when he summoned me through floo to come home and took out his frustrations on me, and then proceeded to work on my sister. My mother was, luckily, at a meeting, so she received none of it. I had recovered for the most part a week later, the day I met you, and I was feeling extremely resentful, hateful, depressed – amongst many other things and, in a state of selfishness and self hatred, I thought that I could not take any more.

It didn't work, though, so I waited, but nothing happened; the wound was closing up too fast. Like I said; I'm a fast healer. So then I decided to go down to the lake and then I found you. When I saw your scars and cuts, I felt…sympathy, I guess, and anger at whatever did that to you, but back then, I thought that I couldn't show anything to you, so I let it be. I felt a need to help you, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything. So…now you know."

"Draco…" Ginny breathed. She hadn't expected him to explain everything. She expected a one-liner. He even talked about when he met her by the lake. "I'm so sorry. I know; you don't want or need pity, but I can't help but feel awful about what's happened to you." He just looked at her, staring strangely into this fallen angel's deep brown eyes and wondering why people thought she was a follower, and not her own person. Why people treated her like shit. And then, she did something he NEVER thought she would do. She hugged him, and held him against her.

"I don't understand this; what's going on with us, and why we met and told each other so much about ourselves while barely knowing each other, but I'm here if you need me. We're both very different, Draco, but we're both so alike." Hesitantly, because he has only ever hugged his mother, Pansy, and his cousin, he brought his arms up and around her, and immediately felt more comfortable with her than he had ever felt with anyone.

"Thank you."

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Thank you for reading! I will really try to work on this story a lot more. I promise!


	8. The Note

I know Draco is completely out of character to some people in this fic, but to me, he isn't. This is how I view him, and it is how he will stay. I'm sorry if any of you have a problem with this Draco, but I think that I have a good reason for him to act this way – his abusive childhood and his disgusting father, who still controls his life. If his father hears anything about Draco being anything but nasty to the other students, he'd beat him. He is still the evil git J. K. Rowling made him out to be, but to everyone else. He has withdrawn a bit, and doesn't go around torturing people anymore.

Someone pointed out that he is emo. Emo is going around showing everyone your scars and cuts, and saying look at me I'm depressed look at me LOOK AT ME. Draco doesn't do that…so no, he isn't emo. Neither is Ginny. They _hide_ their cuts, and they try as hard as they can to hide their depression. They are severely depressed, not emo. I'm not angry, so please don't think that. That comment just bugged me because it isn't true.

Thank you for your reviews! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my plot and made up characters.

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And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

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Ginny hadn't been doing anything lately. Except school work; it was the one thing besides Draco that kept her mind off…things. It also kept her happy; she liked to do work. It cleared her head, and she liked learning.

She had finished her homework for the next few days, though, and was now bored. She decided to go downstairs for lunch. She was a little hungry, but she never ate much, anyway. It wasn't because she didn't want to; she just couldn't. She would eat a little, and not be hungry at all after while she watched everyone else greedily rid their plates of food. She was envious of her brother, who could eat three plates worth of it. She used to eat like Ron. Of course not nearly as much, but she had a big stomach.

Now, because she had no will or real desire to eat and was rarely hungry, her stomach was smaller than it used to be, and, even if she wanted to eat more than what was normal for her, she could not. So, she went downstairs to dinner at 5:00pm and filled her plate with a spoonful of mashed potatoes and a small piece of chicken, not noticing the stormy eyes watching her from across the room. She barely ate it all.

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After Ginny left the Great Hall, Harry, who had been sitting with Ron as Hermione left earlier, frowned; Ginny hadn't even acknowledged them. _'Well of course she wouldn't, you imbecile. You and the others treated her like a little worthless girl in the library when discussing horcruxes. You stupid asshole.'_ Harry still felt horrid for the way they spoke to Ginny, but he hadn't had the nerve to approach her about it, nor did he know what to say. So he watched her slowly distance herself from them, and it tugged at his heart.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a beautiful, majestic-looking eagle owl swooped in and landed in front of him, holding out its leg for him with a note attached. Ron had left the Great hall not two minutes before. Harry took the note and the owl took off. Apparently, the owner did not want a response. Odd…very odd. He opened it, noticing it was quite short. All it had said on the envelope was Harry's name.

_See me tonight at 7:00 sharp at the top of the astronomy tower._

_It concerns someone you know well._

Harry was perplexed, but was now very worried. Did something happen? He saw Ginny and Ron just a few minutes ago, Hermione left about twenty minutes ago, seeming perfectly fine, and the twins were never in trouble. Well…actually, they were _always_ in trouble, but never anything really serious. He looked across the hall, casually noticing that Malfoy and his cronies weren't there, not that he cared. He did notice that Malfoy had been very distant this year, and didn't verbally (or physically) attack any of them anymore. Harry shrugged and left.

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Ginny looked out of her bedroom window from the window seat, her arms circling her knees and her back leaning against the wall. It was snowing. She remembered a time when she loved to go outside and play in the snow, but she had no desire to do that now. Since there was no one in the room, she took out her pocket knife and began making marks on her alabaster skin. She wondered if Draco was doing the same that very moment, though probably not. There was no way she could be certain. She did not want him to continue his habit; she hated that he did that to himself, but she did it, too, and then she wondered if he ever wanted_ her_ to stop. If he ever hated that _she_ did it, too.

He probably didn't. Oh, she shouldn't think that. Wasn't she just in his arms not a week ago, both of them telling their dreams to the other? Yes, he does care about her, she knew. She was a paranoid girl, though. She had become neurotic of what other people thought of her, but Draco was teaching her to not care, and it was working. Although, before she really met him, the Draco she knew as opposed to the Draco Malfoy Slytherin git she knew before she officially met him, sometimes she wouldn't care about anything at all. Sometimes, she felt like she cared about everything. Those times were the worst, and she was experiencing one of those times at the moment.

She looked down at her arm and noticed that the cuts she made were not as deep as the ones she used to make before she met Draco, and smiled. Look at what he was doing to her. He was actually making her happier. That was very rare, these days.

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Harry made his way to the astronomy tower, wondering all the while about who could have sent him the letter. Whoever it was, they had beautiful handwriting. He reached the fifth floor, where the door leading to the astronomy tower was located, and walked to it. When Harry realized Draco Malfoy was standing there with a serious look on his face, he tensed, sensing that something was seriously wrong. He has never once seen that expression on the normally laid back "evil" git.

"Malfoy."

"Potter."

"…"

"…"

They both stood there uncomfortably, neither one moving because one had to say something important, and the other knew but did not know what to say until the other began. Draco shifted from one foot to the other. Finally, Harry broke the silence.

"Was there something you wanted, Malfoy? Obviously you don't want to be near me, so what you have to say must be important, or I wouldn't still be here."

"How perceptive of you, Potter." Harry's face contorted slightly in annoyance, but Draco's stayed serious. "It's Ginny."

At this, Harry's eyes widened, and he perked up.

"Ginny? As in the Weasel's little brat sister?" Harry asked, imitating Draco's previous name for Ginny.

"As in Ginevra Molly Weasley, one of my best friends," he snapped. "She may be his sister, she may be your friend, but she is her own person. Also, don't assume you know who I am, what I am, and who my friends are."

Harry's eyes were as large as dinner plates.

"She's in trouble, Potter. So stop acting like a drama queen and pay attention. I can't always keep an eye on her, and she's not eating, so I…need…_she_ needs you to watch out for her, to make sure she eats. Even if you have to annoy the hell out of her, make her eat. She's too depressed, so she's lost most of her appetite. As you know, I can't sit at your table and she can't sit at mine without everything erupting. She also…" Draco didn't know if he should continue because Ginny would not want Harry to know what Draco was about to tell him.

"She also…what?" Harry asked, now very concerned.

"She cuts." Harry's eyes widened in horror and his heart sped up, filling with dread.

"What?" he whispered.

"She's not happy, Potter. That is quite obvious. Make her life easier when she's not with me. Oh, and do try to not upset her with petty things such as telling her she's too young and innocent to know what you and your little friends are up to. She's a better witch than you think," Draco said, a little rougher than his voice had been before.

Harry winced. He did not make any snide comments. He knew Draco Malfoy was as serious as he probably has ever been, and Harry could tell that the blonde really, sincerely cared for Ginny, which confused him to no end. Also, what Malfoy said to him about his little sister figure was concerning, and frightening. He had noticed that Ginny was losing weight; all of them had, but he felt that he noticed the most. Especially recently, since they've all been extremely busy with quizzes and exams. He also would never have guessed that she cut herself. He nodded.

"I will. I didn't know it was that serious. Thank you for telling me…and for being honest. I won't say anything to the others." Draco knew that Harry meant he wouldn't tell his friends about Draco and Ginny's odd friendship.

"Oh, and Potter, don't tell anyone about her little habit, either. That's between us and only us. I've betrayed her trust enough as it is."

"Isn't it dangerous, though? And why did you tell me, not the others?"

"She doesn't want to kill herself. If she did, don't you think I would have told someone?"

"I guess…"

"Also, Granger would freak out and start crying or something, and Weasley would run to his mother and tell her about Ginny. She's afraid that someone will admit her to a mental ward. She isn't mental, she is depressed, and people who haven't felt that will never understand that, or why people cut."

"You understand her, then?"

"…My personal life and problems are none of your concern," Draco snapped. As soon as he realized his slip, his wall flew up, barricading himself from everything. Harry nodded, turned around, and walked back down the hallway, and was gone.

"Ginny…why are you so unhappy?" Harry sighed and shook his head, then walked in the opposite direction of Malfoy, and disappeared around the corner, eventually making his way to the Gryffindor common room.

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I'm sorry this was so short. I am at a loss of what more to write for this chapter. I know where my story is going, and I know what I will write for the next chapter, but I had to end this one here.


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